


An Ending and a Beginning

by astudyinfic



Series: A December of Ty and Zane [31]
Category: Cut & Run - Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Genre: M/M, Midnight Kiss, New Years, everyone is happy, oh so soft, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 15:11:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17246450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinfic/pseuds/astudyinfic
Summary: As the year comes to an end, Zane reflects on the good, the bad, and everything in between.  It was a year unlike any other and the start of many more to come.Day 31:Midnight kiss





	An Ending and a Beginning

None of them handled fireworks well, not even after all this time.  Sure, they all learned to hide their reactions but if you knew them well, you could see the tension in the jaw or shoulders, the distant look in the eyes.  It made holidays like the Fourth of July difficult. 

New Years also.

It didn’t mean they didn’t like to celebrate.  It just meant they needed to do it more carefully than others.  So they ended up one of two places for those holidays. Either Kelly’s cabin in Colorado, far enough from town not to hear the explosions, or on Nick’s boat, out at sea with only the calming sound of the waves and wind to reach their ears.  

This New Years, the Fiddlers was playing host to Sidewinder and Zane.  

Drinks flowed freely (both of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties) and the music was loud enough to drown out the sound of any fireworks that might carry over the water from the closest town.  Zane couldn’t believe the difference between this New Years and the ones he’d spent before Ty came into his life. Now he actually had something to look forward to in the coming year, and people who cared about him and he cared about in return.  

The feeling was new but not at all unwelcome.

Needing some fresh air, Zane stepped out onto the deck of the boat.  The wind coming off the water was icy but it cleared his mind and left him feeling peaceful.  His solitude only lasted a moment, however. 

“Whatcha thinking about, darlin’?” Ty asked, wrapping his arms around Zane’s waist from behind.  

Leaning back into the embrace, Zane let out a soft sigh, content in a way he never knew was possible.  A loud laugh came from the rest of Ty’s team and Zane smiled in their direction before turning his attention back to his lover. 

“You.  Us. This last year.”  They’d lost people, gained people, and Zane was coming out of this year a different man than he went into it.  A lot of that had to do with the man holding him. Even with all the loss and pain, Zane wouldn’t have traded the year for anything.  “I love you, Ty,” he whispered, words barely audible over the sound of the waves, music, and laughter. 

Ty’s arms tightened around his waist.  “I love you too, Zane. It’s been a good year.”  Zane almost laughed at that, the thought that a year filled with so much death and destruction could be good seemed wrong.  But Zane understood exactly what Ty was saying. “Becuase I have you.” 

Turning in his lover’s arms, Zane wrapped his own around Ty and held him close.  “I feel exactly the same way.”

The quiet of the moment - even with Sidewinder partying in the background - stood in stark contrast to the rest of the year.  Zane couldn’t help but believe, as the rest of the group began counting down to midnight, that this could only bode well for the year to come.  

_ 3...   _

Zane looked into Ty’s eyes and saw the future.  He saw all the love the man had for him and he saw the love he held for Ty reflected in that beautiful hazel.  He saw hopes and dreams for a life neither of them ever expected to have. The life they were building with each other.

_ 2... _

They glanced at their friends, at Digger holding Owen down, demanding a New Years kiss.  At Nick and Kelly laughing at their antics. Ty and Zane smiled, confident in the knowledge that they all survived. They were all still here.  The ones they lost never left them. They all knew they were gone but never forgotten. That they would see each other again. But, for now, it was enough simply to be together, alive and well.  

_ 1... _

Turning back to each other, something in Zane’s soul settled when he laid eyes on the one he loved.  No matter how long they had, no matter what the world might throw at them next, Zane knew that he could handle it all because he had Ty by his side.  “Zane,” Ty breathed out and Zane leaned forward, resting his forehead against his lover as the countdown ended. 

_ HAPPY NEW YEAR _

“Ty,” Zane answered, and closed the distance between them.  Sidewinder could be heard celebrating in the background but as Ty’s lips met his, none of that mattered.  The kiss was soft, gentle, almost chaste. It was a promise to be there for the next year and a celebration that they’d survived the last one.  An affirmation that they were alive, they were together, and as long as they had that, nothing could stand in their way.

“Happy New Year, Lone Star,” Ty said with a smile when they broke apart, moving just far enough to meet the other’s gaze.  

“Happy New Year, Meow Mix.  I love you.”

And really, that was all that mattered.

**Author's Note:**

> And so we reach the end. I can't believe that this month is over already, yet at the same time it seems to have gone on forever. 
> 
> I'm going to take a break for a few days (I've been writing non-stop since the end of September) but I promise many more fics to come in this fandom. 
> 
> If you haven't already, check out [Accal1a's 31-days of Sidewinder fics](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1199074), though beware that they contain spoilers if you haven't read past _Touch & Geaux_. 
> 
> Thank you for reading along and welcoming me to this amazing fandom. Love you all!
> 
> * * *
> 
>  
> 
> Come yell at me on [tumblr](http://astudyinfic.tumblr.com), [pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.io/astudyinfic) or [twitter](http://twitter.com/astudyinfic)
> 
> Also, we made a [Cut & Run discord channel](https://discord.gg/KFfErkb) if anyone is interested in joining and yelling at us about the books we all love.


End file.
